


She Knows who can help them!

by Lionheart39



Series: She Knows Who Can Help! [1]
Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 04:20:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26346991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lionheart39/pseuds/Lionheart39
Summary: The TARDIS know who to go to when the Doctor needs help
Series: She Knows Who Can Help! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940053
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	She Knows who can help them!

Chapter 1

He was looking at the note on his desk, he turned it over and shook his head!

He needs you! Denham wood, NZ 27675 61912! 11.30 am

The paper felt strange rather more like a plastic!

Well, whatever it shouldn't be here, his office door had been locked. All messages should be left with Corporal Bell.

He stepped out of his office, and looked at his assistant.

“Has anybody been in here since I left?” 

The young woman looked up startled,

“No Sir, I haven't left the office in over an hour Sir, no one has been here at all since you left for the daily briefing! Unusually quiet not even a phone call!” 

The Brigadier looked troubled but decided not to mention the note, yet wasn't quite sure why he didn't!

“No, just mislaid something,” at Corporal Bell’s worried look he said “probably left it at home this morning!” 

He looked up at the clock, 10:10.

“I'll just pop back and get it, on second thoughts I may just take the afternoon off as it's so quiet!”

At the Corporal’s surprised look he said “I'll take those staff evaluation reports with me, to work on it'll be quieter at home. The Doctor is due back from his visit to the space centre, so it may be best if I find somewhere he can't locate me, if I want to get some work done!”

Corporal Bell grinned. 

He popped back into his office and looked at the note again! He decided just to be on the safe side he would leave a note of his own! He quickly jotted down a quick outline about finding the note on his desk, gave the location he had been asked to go to. He sealed it in an envelope and addressed it to Yates.

“Right, Corporal, you know where I am, but not a word to anyone else. If there is an emergency, that you think I need to know about,” he stressed the you, “call me, I will have my radio on our frequency!” 

He had long since learned the hard way that leaving any way of contacting him with anyone else was a sure way for the Doctor to find him. Carol Bell seemed to be immune to the Doctor’s, charm, hypnosis or bullying! He didn't know how he would manage without this remarkable woman!

He turned the envelope he was holding in his hand over a few times, then passed it to the Corporal.

“That’s a note for Mr Yates,” he said looking at the young woman, “if I’m not back for the 18:00 meeting, give it to him!”

Carol interpreting the look knew there was more to this unusual trip then he was saying and she looked at the Brigadier a little worriedly. She unlocked her bottom draw placed the envelope inside, and brought out a box, she opened it and handed him a small device, it was the size of a penny. She looked at him sternly.

He nodded and smiled. 

“Thank you Carol!”But you only give the Doctor the frequency of this if it is certain I need help!”

The young woman nodded! “Good luck, and take care Sir!” she said looking worried!

“Thank you Carol!”

He'd gone home and changed into his tweed trousers and a khaki, crew neck jumper. He took his field glasses and put the small automatic pistol that usually resided in his bedside draw into the holster at the small of his back! Pulling on his boots and taking his cap off the hook near the door he could pass for a man spending his afternoon bird watching. He double checked the tracking device Carol had given him was in the loose change in his pocket then headed out!

He had carefully scouted the location several times. He was now sat in the foliage of a large oak tree! About 20 feet above the ground, he had an excellent view of the surrounding area and was just a couple of hundred yards from the meeting place. He checked his watch again 11:28.

Then he heard it, the groaning noise of alien mechanics and the TARDIS was there! Alistair shook his head. He knew the TARDIS was back in the lab at UNIT HQ! He knew it couldn't have flown here, it didn't work, half it's inside were on the outside. In fact they were strewn over benches making the whole lab look like a 21st century scrap yard!

A young man in a cream Edwardian frock coat and looking like he was wearing cricket whites strolled out!

“Where? This isn't,” he looked around desperately. “Oh I say, what!” The young man turned to go back inside but the door had slammed shut!

“It's no good doing that! I've got my key!” he yelled. 

Taking out the aforementioned key and thrusting it into the lock he turned it back and forth to no avail. So he kicked the door sharply, but the door remained locked! 

“I say, what's the meaning, come on we need to collect Tegan, Nyssa and Ad..!” 

Then suddenly he stopped his face frozen, he turned around sharply, lent against the blue box and hung his head. After a few moments he slumped down onto his backside, folded his arms around his legs and resting his head on his knees he started to cry.

Silently the Brigadier descended the tree and walked towards the young man! 

“Are you alright?” He asked unsure.

The tear stained face looked up shocked, he hadn't heard anyone approaching!

He swiped at his eyes with his sleeve, “Yes, yes.. just!”

The tall man handed him a hankie, “Here you are, Doctor, use that!”

“Thank you...”

The tall man sat down next to the man he was now sure was the Doctor.

“Anything you want to talk about? I've become surprisingly good at listening to people’s problems over the years. Nearly twenty years of being in command of young men, away from home, tends to give you the opportunity to develop counselling skills!”

The Doctor blinked and turned his head and suddenly realised who his companion was! 

“Alistair? Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart! How? why?...” He was both amazed and shocked to discover who his companion was.

The Brigadier reached into his pocket for the note and handed it to the young man next to him!

The Doctor looked at it and blinked! Looked back at The Brigadier smiled weakly then put out his hand and patted the blue box.

“Fancy a drink?” the Brigadier asked as he stood up offering his hand towards the Doctor, to help him up!

The Doctor nodded and took the proffered hand.

“My cottage is about a mile or so along this path!” he glanced back at the Doctor and decided to keep the conversation light and away from whatever it was worrying his friend! 

“I don't remember you having a cottage?” the Doctor said puzzled!

Alistair smiled, “No, no one knew apart from Carol and of course Liz!”

“Liz?” the Doctor said amazed!

“Yes, well, we could hardly have kept our relationship secret if we had been sneaking around the base now could we!”

“You and Liz!”

“Don't sound so amazed, Doctor!” 

“Are you still...?”

He shook his head sadly, “No it ran its course and she returned to Cambridge! Liz wasn't cut out to be an army wife, and I couldn't give up my role or change how I did the job!”

“So that's why she left so suddenly!” 

Alistair nodded, “We parted friends, so not so bad!”

They neared the small neat cottage and he saw the cheery floral curtains, surely a Liz Shaw touch. They entered the light airy sitting room.

“I take it my note came from the TARDIS?“

The Doctor nodded! “Yes, the old girl has fond memories of our UNIT days and of you! I often find her skipping through photos and sound bites from that time!”

Alistair’s eyebrow rose and he twitched a smile. Then crossed over to the drinks tray and poured two large glasses of Brandy.

The Doctor stood in the centre of the room and turned taking in every thing! On the mantel were several photographs. One of Kate, another of Liz. Several of couples obviously at army events. A photo of Alistair outside Buckingham Palace in full dress uniform holding a medal. There were also photos of Alistair with groups of soldiers, his commands over the years, including ones of the UNIT personnel he remembered!

“Very cosy, I can imagine you and Liz here! Can I ask...?”

“Why it didn't work?” the Brigadier finished. “Liz was tired of all the losses Doctor! She needed to make the break while she could! I can't stop being who I am, not even for Liz!”

“Arrr, she was afraid that one day it would be you!”

He nodded, “Best she finds someone else, someone safe to love!” he headed for the kitchen. “Cheese and biscuits Doctor?” he asked.

The Doctor smiled sadly! “Someone second best!” he muttered. “Yes, please!” he shouted out.

They sat looking at each other, over the Brandy, they hadn't spoken just shared the cheese and biscuits while sipping at their drinks.

“Can I ask which version you are?”

The Doctor's eyes flicked up and he seemed once again shocked to see his friend! 

“The fifth!” the Doctor said flashing his friend a brief but pained smile.

Alistair just nodded and consigned the information to memory!

“So Doctor, how can I help!”

The Doctor looked puzzled!

His friend sighed deeply! “It's obvious, that something is wrong, and the TARDIS thinks I can help, otherwise you both wouldn't be here and she wouldn't have locked you out! So lets not be beating about the bush Doctor!” he said briskly, “I doubt I will have all day as your former self will be back at HQ and if I'd not around and he can't find me, he'll no doubt do something drastic so Carol will have to call me in!”

The Doctor grinned! “Yes, sorry about that! I used to get rather worried if you were away and I didn't know where. Silly really but I was rather insecure in those days!”

Alistair looked rather surprised at this confession!

“Insecure, the 3rd you?”

“Mmmm, rather unbelievable I know, but I wouldn't have survived my exile with out you Alistair. I had thought you knew that and like Liz, I was always afraid something would happen to you!”

Alistair’s eyebrows rose in surprise, then he smirked “I always thought being around you was the most dangerous place I had ever been!” the Brigadier said.

They exchanged weak grins!

“Well, you best tell me about whatever is troubling you!”

The Doctor looked at his friends earnest face and started his tale!

“A few years ago my fourth self picked up a new companion, a young boy named Adric, he came from, well that doesn't matter! The thing is he was a teenage genius! He had outstanding mathematical and logic skills. Even.. well even better than my own, .. at times!” 

The Brigadier was surprised at this statement, he had never heard the Doctor admit anyone could be more intelligent then himself!

He watched his friend take a drink, then wipe tears from his eyes.

“Well, Adric died! Died in such...!”

The Doctor stopped and didn't seem to know how to start again.

After a few minutes the Brigadier said, “Doctor, why not just tell me what happened!”

The Doctor looked at his old friend quirked a smile that didn't reach his eyes, then nodded.

“The cybermen had planted a bomb to destroy the Earth!” At the Brigadier's worried look the Doctor said “Hundreds of years in the future Brigadier! The Cybermen wanted to destroy the planet because there was a conference of leaders from a group of planets who wanted to try and defeat the Cybermen ,once and for all!” 

The Brigadier nodded his approval at that.

“Well with Adric’s help I managed to defuse the bomb!”

The Brigadier let out the breath he was holding!

“But the Cybermen had another string to their bow, they locked a freighter on a collision course to Earth, with another explosive device on board!” 

The Doctor looked at his friend and smiled weakly. “We got on board the freighter in an attempt to stop them! But we were captured and the Cybermen made me take their leader and his guards off in to the TARDIS. We left Adric behind as a hostage. Well, to cut a long story short, we killed the Cybermen on the TARDIS but not before their leader had damaged the central console!”

The Doctor took another large swallow of his Brandy and the Brigadier topped the glass back up!

“While we did that the freighter crew tried to stop the Cybermen from crashing the freighter into Earth. But the navigational controls were locked using a logic code. While the rest of the crew abandoned ship, Adric remained behind and tried to find a solution to the code. He was partly successful, because he caused the freighter to time jump back 65 million years!” 

The Brigadier frowned! “65 million, you mean the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs was a freighter with a Cyber bomb on board?” he asked incredulously.

The Doctor nodded, surprised at how quickly his friend had made the connection!

The Brigadier just shook his head in disbelief!

“The thing is Brigadier, Adric didn't get off the freighter, Tegan, Nyssa and I watched it crash into the Earth with Adric on board! And I couldn't go and rescue him because, the TARDIS was damaged!”

The Brigadier looked at his friend sympathetically.

“Then when I fixed the TARDIS, Tegan and Nyssa wanted me to go back and get him but,...”

“But, you couldn't, because you would be crossing your own timeline and possibly disrupting the future if you do!”

The Doctor smiled at his friend and nodded. Then his brow furrowed, “You understood all that I never thought you did..”

“Liz explained it all to me, she was always a better teacher then you Doctor!”

He smiled weakly!

“As I see it old friend you had no choice! Oh I know you like to think you can save everyone, Doctor, but you aren't a God! Even if you hang around with us lesser beings so you can feel like one!“

The Doctor blinked and thought on that!

“We all like to think we can save the world, save everyone, save our friends, but you learn that you can't and you see friends die!”

“How do you cope with it Brigadier?” the Doctor asked desperately!

“You remember the better times, you remember what their loss achieved and above all you remember them, you never forget how special they were!”

“But how do you cope with the pain? The guilt!”

The Brigadier smiled sadly, “You either live with it or you let it destroy you! Do you imagine Adric would want it to destroy you?”

The Doctor shook his head!

“Then, there is, your answer!”

The radio on the desk crackled into life.

“Greyhound leader!”

Alistair acknowledged the message!

“Sorry about this Sir, but the Doctor has just blown up part of the Lab, I think it would be safer if you were here, Sir!”

“Thank you Trap one, on my way back!”

“Do you need me to walk you back to the TARDIS Doctor?”

He shook his head and they both heard the TARDIS as it landed in the back garden of the cottage!

Suddenly the Doctor grasped the Brigadier's hand, “Thank You, Alistair!”

He watched the Time Lord approach the box and the doors opened! He hoped this conversation had helped. It was a pity Liz wasn't here, she would have been able to do a much better job at this sort of thing!

He put his hand in his pocket to take out the note, as he looked at the message it changed!

‘Thank you, for helping him, no one else ever could! Yours as ever TARDIS!’

He smiled as he changed back into his uniform and headed out to see what his Scientific advisor had destroyed this time!


End file.
